WASHINGTON CITY DESPATCH

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1 WASHINGTON CITY DESPATCH AWARD-WINNING NEWSLETTER OF THE WASHINGTON STAMP COLLECTORS CLUB VOLUME 4 NUMBER 6 WHOLE NUMBER 24 NOVEMBER DECEMBER 2009 On Gantz and DeVoss Awards Presented at Banquet By Janet Hughes Photos by Joel Fassler and Janet Hughes Each year the WSCC recognizes two individuals who have given exemplary service to the philatelic community. The De Voss award is given to a WSCC member for service to the club during the last year. The Gantz award is presented to a non-wscc member who has provided outstanding service to the hobby during the past year. The Gantz award recipient for 2009 is Mr. Mickey Ennis, nominated by the Springfield Stamp Club (SSC) in Springfield, Virginia. He is pictured at left accepting the award from C. A. Stillions, WSCC President, which was presented at the annual Awards Banquet, held on October 7 th at Tony Cheng s. Mr. Ennis was cited for work that began with the SSC in Mr. Ennis held numerous positions, including SSC President and Vice-President. In 2006, he began working as the Youth Group Coordinator. This work includes having a youth program available once a month for any youth attending the SSC Club meetings. It also includes setting up and coordinating all aspects of a youth event table at the annual SPRINGPEX SSC show. He also expanded that effort to include the National Philatelic Exhibitions of Washington, DC (NAPEX) show, which resulted in a letter from the President of NAPEX, citing Mickey s work at the Youth Table at NAPEX. His efforts over the three days of the show exposed the hobby of stamp collecting to children from the entire metropolitan area. His work with the youth also lets him wear his signature hat, which he is wearing above. Several members of the SSC came to celebrate with Mr. Ennis and are seen here wearing similar hats. From the left are Neal Parr, Doug Easton, President of the Springfield Stamp Club, and Phil Uhlmann, a member of both the SSC and the WSCC. Other friends not shown here were Otto Thamasett, Gantz Awardee for 2008, and May Day Taylor, Youth Director for NAPEX, a WSCC member and the 2006 recipient of the Gantz Award.

2 Page 2 All the members present at the WSCC meeting on September 16 th voted for the recipient of the Gantz Award from a field of four highly qualified nominees. It was Mr. Ennis work with youth that particularly impressed the WSCCers. Congratulations to him. We all wish him much success in this effort. The DeVoss Award is presented to a member of the WSCC who has given time and exemplary effort to the club during the year. It is voted on by the WSCC officers. The recipient of the DeVoss Award for 2009 is: Dan Piazza, Assistant Curator of Philately at the National Postal Museum (NPM). Dan is shown on the left with his award. His contributions to the WSCC over the past year or more have included several special presentations, including one on the 3 cent Smithsonian commemorative stamp of 1946 and an informative presentation on the history of the Gantz cup and the first president of the WPS. He also led special tours of the NPM Miller Collection and the current FDR exhibit for WSCC members. In addition he was specifically cited for his work in redesigning and maintaining the WSCC website, We congratulate Dan on his many accomplishments and hard work on behalf of the WSCC. Annual Awards Dinner Attended by Members and Friends By Janet Hughes The 2009 Awards Banquet was attended this year by many WSCC members, spouses, and old friends, all of whom caught up on the latest philatelic adventure. We will let the pictures retell the story and hope that none of the attendees have been omitted. Those of you who missed the event, mark your calendars for next year. The food again was excellent and plentiful. No one left hungry!! Springfield Stamp Club Members Joyce Adams & Jill Piazza Tadas Osmolskis & John Hardies Celebrate with Mickey Ennis

3 Page 3 Trade Opportunity We have a trade opportunity for those interested in filling the Belgian holes in their collections. You can contact De Blocq Roger, Electriciteitsstraat 29/102, 2800 Mechelen, Belgium. He is interested in exchanging Belgian stamps for US from 2005 to date.

4 Page 4 National Postal Museum to Expand Thanks to a generous $8 million gift from William H. Gross, founder of PIMCO, the National Postal Museum will begin a 12,000 square foot (sic) expansion of the current facility at street level on Massachusetts Avenue. There will also be a William H. Gross Stamp Gallery that will house three extraordinary rarities and will include space for educational exhibits, temporary exhibits, and public programs. In making this donation, Mr. Gross stated, Stamp collecting has been such a rewarding and educational hobby for me that I wanted to share the joys of philately in a way that would benefit future generations of students, citizens and scholars. The gallery at the Smithsonian s National Postal Museum will use stamps and mail to offer a unique perspective on American history and identity. The story of stamps in America is the story of America, and I am proud to be part of preserving and showcasing these treasures. While the new gallery won t be completed until 2012, Mr. Gross generously loaned three extraordinary rarities for previewing October 1-31, 2009, in the museum. One of the most iconic and recognizable stamp errors ever discovered is the c Inverted Jenny air post stamp. One sheet of 100 stamps was discovered with all of the stamps within the sheet having had the blue biplane in the center printed upside down. From the original sheet of 100, only six blocks of four still exist four of which are contained within the William Gross collection. He loaned one of these spectacular blocks of four, the unique left sheet margin block of four. The second item is a remarkable 1860 Pony Express cover which was disrupted in route when the Indians overtook the rider. It is poignantly notated on the front of the envelope recovered from a mail stolen by the Indians in The cover was finally delivered in The third item is a cover on which is the first recorded usage of these stamps a pair of the Ten Cent George Washington stamps on a cover from New York City Indianapolis, Indiana used on July 2, No other such cover exists dated this early. Support will also be required from other sources to complete this project. Further details can be found on the NPM website New Titles in the NPM Library Provided by Dan Piazza It has been some time since we have included new titles in the library. They have been omitted only because of space. Many new books and pamphlets come into the NPM Library each month and many can be sources of information for research and study. We have selected a few to list here. Additionally a catalog of all the holdings in the library are available online at The library continues to be accessible on the 3 rd Saturday of each month as well as daily. Here are some titles that may be of special interest. The value of a dollar : colonial era to the Civil War, , Scott Derks and Tony Smith. 20th century presidents on worldwide stamps : William McKinley to George W. Bush by Melvin Morris. Delivering hope : FDR & stamps of the great depression, Cheryl R. Ganz and Daniel Piazza ; with M.T. Sheahan. Computers on stamps and stationery. Volume 2 by Larry Dodson.

5 Page 5 A philatelic tour of the American Civil War : (also known as the War between the States) by Larry Dodson. North Atlantic packets : departures & arrivals, , by James R. Pullin. ATA resources & information guide : June May 2009.American Topical Association. The future of the Universal Postal Service in the UK. c2009 Miniature messages : the semiotics and politics of Latin American postage stamps, Jack Child. United States incoming steamship mail, by Theron J. Wierenga, edited by Richard F. Winter. A history of Nevada County post offices, , Michel Janicot. The social and economic importance of postal reform in 1840 by David Allam. George Washington on stamps by Melvin Morris. In the land of make believe : fairy tales, folktales, legends, fables, children's stories and Disney depicted on postage stamps of the world by Karen Cartier. Topical stamp collecting : a universal hobby for seniors by John Groet and Ray Cartier. Edited by Ray Cartier. Special mail routes of the American Civil War : a guide to across-the-lines postal history by Steven C. Walske and Scott R. Trepel Cuba : catálogo de las oficinas postales = catalog of post offices por Pedro M. Rodríguez. Federal Civil War postal history by James W. Milgram Maritime aspects of Baltimore postal history by Patricia Stilwell Walker. Two WSCC Members Win Top Awards at BALPEX 2009 By Don Peterson Two Washington Stamp Collectors Club members won top awards for their exhibits at BALPEX, September 4-6, 2009, Hunt Valley Inn, Hunt Valley, Maryland. Gerhard Wolf won a Gold Award for his one-frame exhibit, Graf Zeppelin Return Flight: Dispatches from Bolivia on the Europa-Pan-American Flight. Doug Lehmann also won a Gold Award for his 6-frame exhibit, Winged Charity The 1939 Christmas Seal. Patricia Stilwell Walker entered a 5-frame non-competitive exhibit, Howard County, Maryland. The awards were presented at the Awards Banquet on September 5. The guest speaker at the banquet was Cheryl Ganz, Curator of Philately at the National Postal Museum, who is also a WSCC member. Many WSCC members attended the show. Congratulations Gerhard and Doug. This year, the Baltimore Philatelic Society (BPS), which sponsors BALPEX, celebrates its 120 th Anniversary ( ). The Society s clubhouse, located at 1224 N. Calvert Street in Baltimore, was purchased by three members in 1961, and currently houses three libraries: the BPS Library with more than 30,000 books and periodicals, the German Philatelic Society Library, and the Society for Czechoslovak Philatelic Library. For more details on BPS meeting and library hours, contact: or

6 Page 6 PRESIDENT S MESSAGE By C.A. Stillions For those of you that attended our annual awards banquet, you attended a great event and enjoyed a wonderful evening. Special thanks go to Gerry Marandino for planning and managing the banquet and to Virginia Randolph for getting the banquet menus date stamped at one of the smaller Post Offices in the city, the Ft. McNair Station. For those of you who did not attend, there is always next year. Over the last few days just before the deadline for this newsletter, issues about the current state of our Constitution and By-laws have been raised. Issues about the way we vote for our leaders, what constitutes a quorum, and even the status of our newest members. On our club web site, a link to our Constitution and By-laws can be found at the end of the History section; where it can be read, downloaded, or printed. It is recommended reading as we discuss constitutional issues and ponder who will lead us in If you do not have access to a computer, we will have copies available at our second meeting in November. Again this year we will be having our annual holiday party in the church s Great Hall downstairs. It is a pot luck dinner and a donation auction. The variety of food and auction lots is outstanding. It is a fun event for all, collectors and spouses as well. It is always our most well attended event and rightfully so. We have three donation auctions a year and the money realized goes a long way towards paying for the rent for our meeting place. The better the quality of the donations, the more spirited the bidding, the more money raised, the more our dues remain unchanged. So this holiday please plan to donate quality material and, just as importantly, bid generously. Any way you cut it, it will be an enjoyable evening, just like our banquets. Happy Holidays. UPCOMING WSCC MEETING CALENDAR November 4 November 18 December 2 December 16 Speaker: Cliff Alexander Discussion of Club Constitution and By-laws Speaker: Japan s Furasato (Prefecture) Stamps, Cecil Uyehara Annual WSCC Holiday Party and Donation Auction, bring lots to eat and sell Philatelic Show Schedule November VAPEX, Lexington George Washington Inn & Conference Center, 500 Merrimac Trail, Williamsburg, VA November 13, 12 noon - 6 p.m.; November 14, 10 a.m. 6 p.m.; November 15, 10 a.m. 4 p.m.

7 Page 7 Youth in Philately By Janet Hughes It seems that the theme of this newsletter is youth. The Gantz Awardee was selected because of his on-going efforts to involve youth with stamp collecting. We have two articles in this issue that also highlight youth and education through postage stamps. Philatelic Searching in the Caribbean By Matt Cassetta I arrived in Trinidad and Tobago in late June to take up my latest foreign service post, and immediately set about to search these lush islands for both collectors and interesting stamps. Though it's been slow going philatelically, I wanted to give the club an update on what I've found to date. 1. Stamps: I have dropped in on no less than a half dozen post offices so far, to see what they have for sale. The first photo pictured is a typical "TTPost" office, this one is located on the western road out of Port of Spain. T&T has a very conservative stamp issuance policy (perhaps THE most conservative in the Caribbean) and so only has for sale a few issues from These include a set depicting Medicinal Plants, a booklet issue of ten showing marine life, a WWF showing Porcupines, and a longer set showing architecture in Port of Spain. I have been posting these on letters and postcards back home steadily. 2. Collectors: I have yet to find a stamp shop, collectors club or other truly philatelic venue (the search continues, however). Taking matters into my own hands, I embarked on a project to create philatelic interest in youth as part of my ongoing visits to schools. In the small village of Avocat in central-south Trinidad, I distributed stamp packets to 55 primary school students (2nd photo) and held a contest to see if they could identify all the country names on the stamps. It was wildly popular, and 4 children received prizes of books and school supplies. I plan to repeat this educational project in coming months. More to come from the islands, and thanks to all club folks who have been so wonderful to keep in touch since I've been away. Also, check out a blog on island stamps (worldwide) that I have been posting to regularly http//:islandstamps.blogspot.com.

8 Page 8 Philatelists People s Republic of China In an article on posted March 3, 2009, Juliet Lapidos asks Why are the Chinese such incorrigible stamp collectors? The answer is this. It s a status symbol. Stamp collecting became popular in the United States during the Great Depression in part because it s a cheap diversion and also because President Franklin Roosevelt, an ardent philatelist, encouraged the hobby. Although many Americans indulge in the pastime to this day, the image it brings to mind of nerdy schoolchildren has made the practice less modish both here and the United Kingdom. The Chinese, however, don t harbor such negative feelings about stamp collecting. On the contrary, the hobby is a sign of middle-class status and an indication of a respectable, scholarly disposition. Starting in 2000, the Chinese government made it an official policy to foster stamp collecting among youngsters by encouraging elementary and high-school teachers to organize clubs as a way to foster interest in national history. The country currently has almost 50,000 philately associations, and universities in Fujian and Jiangxi offer elective courses in stamp collecting. What is clear in this article is that encouraging stamp collecting at an early age is the key to keeping the hobby alive. Efforts, such as the one our own Jill Piazza has started in her 1 st grade class, will hopefully get the message out that stamp collecting is a great learning tool. The NPM has also made educational materials available through its website, Stamp collecting is fun! A Trip to APS or WSCC History Mysteries Unsolved By Janet Hughes At the WSCC meeting on September 2 nd, Dan Piazza gave a presentation on items of historical interest to the WSCC. Since the annual DeVoss and Gantz Award dinner was just a month away, he researched the background of the Gantz Award, with which most of the members were not familiar. His research also included information about the first President of the WPS, one of the two clubs that joined to form the WSCC. Details of the September 2 nd presentation will be available in the future on the WSCC website and in a future newsletter. Much was already known about James DeVoss, for whom the DeVoss award was named. The historical background of the Gantz Award remained a mystery. In his presentation, Dan told about Harry Gantz, for whom it is assumed that the Gantz Award was named. While we do not have his picture, we know now that his wife, Kathryn, was the philatelist in the family, having won the original Cup at the Pan American Union Exposition in The Cup was donated to the CCW, another parent organization of the WSCC, in honor of Harry Gantz and circulated within the CCW as a prize for single frame exhibits within that club. At the time of the merger of the WPS and the WSCC in 2006 both the Gantz Cup and the DeVoss Trophy, which was donated and named for CCW member James DeVoss, were retired and were to be donated to the APS.

9 Page 9 In the last couple of newsletters, we have included accounts of WSCC members visiting APS where lots of interesting and affordable philatelic material abounds. Talk of covers at 10 and 25 cents each sparked our interest. In July, Bill and I made our first trip to Bellefonte, PA to get an up-close and personal look. We were not disappointed. There were boxes and boxes of covers and other material to be searched and we found that one day of digging through them was not enough. We scheduled another visit in September. During the second visit, we asked to see the DeVoss Trophy and the Gantz Cup, since we had just heard about them and the Awards Banquet was coming up. The DeVoss Trophy, seen on the left, is large and as cumbersome as some remembered it. The base has three of four plates with names of recipients, which match the ones reported on the WSCC website. The Gantz Cup, however, was nowhere to be found. In fact, the APS librarian who showed us the DeVoss Trophy said she had never seen the Gantz Cup. When we returned home, we raised this as a concern with the WSCC Executive Committee. At the Awards banquet on October 7, Dan shared a history of the Gantz Award and mentioned that the Cup was not at APS. The last recipient of the award in the CCW, Milton Holmes, was at the banquet and stated that he had given the award to an officer of the club. Where is the Gantz Cup? It is a mystery. ACCOUNTS OF MEETINGS By Jeff Meade, Recording Secretary 2 September 2009 President C. A. STILLIONS presiding, 25 members. Member Bill Sandrik informed the club that a former member, Herb Friedman, had passed away. Bill saw an obituary in the Washington Post, and mentioned that Herb Friedman collected DC and US postal History. Member Jeff Meade noted that he recently returned from a vacation in Maine and had mailed himself an interesting postcard from Peaks Island, just off the coast of Portland. He passed the card around. Vice President Don Petersen updated the club about a potential move of the club meeting location. Don and Member Joel Fassler visited the Armed Forces Retirement Home (AFRH) and stated that the location was probably not the move WSCC is looking for. Some of the questions and logistics that came up were: No charge, but WSCC would need to make a donation, Potential room lacks dedicated tables and chairs, which means that the room would need to be set up for each WSCC meeting, transportation is difficult, especially public transportation. The ARFH member that suggested the room location made a collection donation to the WSCC. Items will be auctioned at the upcoming member auction on October 21. Member Virginia Randolph reminded the club that Balpex was coming up this weekend and that she still had some discount tickets available. President C.A. Stillions notified the club that he received an outside recommendation for the annual Gantz Award. The club discussed the nomination and decided to make final decisions on the Award winners at the September 16 th meeting. President C.A. Stillions introduced the night s featured speaker: WSCC Member Dan Piazza. WSCC History s Mystery, Solved! The story of WSCC Founding Father and the Gantz Cup. 16 September 2009 President C. A. STILLIONS presiding, 19 members attending. Vice President Don Petersen updated the club about Balpex. An article about WSCC participation is in this newsletter. Vice President Don Petersen mentioned that a potential member, Bill Littlewood of the Stamps for the Wounded program would like to attend meetings but needs a ride in from Gaithersburg. Vice President Don Petersen announced that another trip to the Stamps for a Living program at St. Elizabeth s Hospital is coming up on October 22 nd. He reminded the club that this group receives very large donations of stamps and that the contents change all the time.

10 Page 10 Member Jeff Meade announced the survey of the WSCC website to determine how the site is used and whether or not changes should be made. A lively discussion ensued. President C.A. Stillions notified the club that he received several recommendations for the annual Gantz Award: Roland Burgher, Eric Emsing, Mickey Ennis, and Tom Lera. After a vote of members present, Mickey Ennis was chosen as the 2009 Gantz Awardee. 7 October 2009 President C. A. STILLIONS presiding, DeVoss and Gantz Award banquet, details elsewhere in the newsletter. 21 October 2009 President C. A. STILLIONS presiding, 24 members attending. News of the death of member Larry MacKallor was made by his brother, Jules MacKallor. Member Hugh Wynn was also present. Program for the evening was a member auction. Large lots of material from the Armed Forces Retirement Home were also auctioned. Proceeds from the sale of those lots were divided between the AFRH and the club. Other items auctioned for members included books, albums with and without stamps, covers and philatelic supplies. Stamps for Sale: Order from Stamps for a Living Business, FO18/JHP/OT-Dept., 2700 M L King Ave. S.E., Washington, D.C , or call Mark Melanson, WASHINGTON STAMP COLLECTORS CLUB web site: President: C. A. Stillions, 1435 Fourth Street, S. W., No. B212, Washington, DC , castillions@hotmail.com, FON/FAX: Vice President: Don Peterson, dpeterson4526@comcast.net Executive Secretary: Gerard Marandino, 5105 Skyline Village Court, Alexandria, VA 22302, gmarandino@alum.mit.edu Recording Secretary: Jeff Meade Treasurer: Joel Fassler, P. O. Box 1211, Silver Spring, MD 20910, senttome@erols.com Newsletter Editors: William and Janet Hughes, 2205 Russell Road, Alexandria, VA 22301, jmhughes02@yahoo.com, FON: Webmaster: Daniel Piazza, dpiazza3@verizon.net, FON: FDC Manager: Lorraine Bailey, Alsaceleb@aol.com Circuits Manager: Virginia Randolph Historian: Herb Trenchard, trenchardh@si.edu Membership information may be obtained from the Executive Secretary. Dues are due June 30th and are $16.00 a year for resident members, $8.00 a year for non-resident members, and $8.00 a year for junior members. Meetings are held the First and Third Wednesdays of the month at Christ United Methodist Church, 900 Fourth Street, S. W., Washington, DC starting at 7:00 PM. (Enter Church Education wing from I Street, S.W.)